


Teach a Warrior of Light to Fish

by LynMars79



Series: Aeryn Striker [11]
Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: Fishing, Friendship, Gen, Heavensward, Midlander Hyur Warrior of Light (Final Fantasy XIV), Miqo'te (Final Fantasy XIV), shadowbringers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-19
Updated: 2020-10-19
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:02:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,729
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27102397
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LynMars79/pseuds/LynMars79
Summary: When this was over, Renda-Rae hoped Ardbert would pick up a rod again, that he would sit in a low chair and watch the light sparkle over the water while he let the reel spin and the line play between his fingers, waiting for a bite.
Relationships: Ardbert & Renda-Rae
Series: Aeryn Striker [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1632130
Comments: 8
Kudos: 18





	Teach a Warrior of Light to Fish

A lazy day at the lake was exactly what they had needed, Renda thought, stretching on her towel. She rolled onto her stomach as she opened her eyes. Branden had cajoled Nyelbert and Cylva into some sort of ball game in the shallower water, Lamitt apparently refereeing from atop a rocky outcropping, the four of them laughing and shrieking as they splashed around.

It was nice to see Cylva having fun; the elven woman was usually far too serious, with an air of melancholy about her. Usually when they planned little aways like this between adventures she would take off on her own for a few days, doing gods only knew what. Ardbert had convinced her to join them this time.

Speaking of....

To her left was a familiar zipping noise, followed by good-natured cursing. Renda turned her head and propped it on her crossed arms as she regarded their nominal leader.

“Not getting any bites?” she asked.

“Oh, they’re biting!” Ardbert said. “And then making off with my bait, the cheeky little blighters.” He frowned at his broken hook for a moment before turning to his tackle box, grumbling as he carefully rummaged.

“I really don’t know how you can stand it,” she yawned. “Fishing’s so boring.”

“Says the woman doing naught but lounging.”

“Naps are important,” Renda replied, lazily flicking her tail. “In fishing you have to pay attention to those little nibbles.”

“Don’t see how it’s much different from hunting,” he said, clinch knotting a new hook onto the line. “You get the right tool for the right job—“

“Like you haven’t all this time, apparently.”

“--And _then_ , you patiently wait for your quarry to get where you want them.” Ardbert pretended to ignore her interjection.

“Eh, if you say so,” Renda replied, settling back in for another nap. “I think you’re reaching.”

“We’ll see you complaining when we’ve fish for dinner.”

She opened an eye. “I like the end results just fine, thank you. I just think of the two of us, I’ve been more productive so far.”

“Well I’m going to continue to enjoy the view.”

“You’re welcome to, though I don’t think this bathing suit flatters my arse quite so well as it does the other side.”

She laughed as he nearly fumbled his fishing rod into the lake. “For gods’ sake, Renda!” He shook his head. “I meant the shoreline--and the horizon--a-and--the—”

“Relax, Ardbert, I know you’re a gentleman,” she giggled. Too damn much of one if anything, Renda thought, her ears flicking toward the rock where Lamitt was calling a foul on Nyelbert for some silly reason. Ah well; it wasn’t her place to speak up on that. “Don’t let me oversleep, all right?”

“So when you’re as pink as a cama, got it.” She could hear him grinning as she closed her eyes.

“Don’t you dare,” she mock-threatened. In the water, the others continued to play their games, laughing and yelling. The fishing line zipped out, followed by the gentle spin of the reel. Renda cracked her eyes open again.

Ardbert was leaning back in his low little fishing chair, the rod and line playing loosely through his calloused fingers while he looked off beyond the hermit Ken’s Isle to where the shimmering waters met the hazy light of the horizon.

Always looking into the light, their Ardbert--past the shadowy reflections of where they had been, and to the bright promises of the future. Perhaps that was why he naturally had fallen into something of a leader’s role for their little group, though he would try to deny it.

As she closed her eyes once more, Renda heard the line go taunt with a little splash, Ardbert’s sharp intake of breath, and the reel cranked. She smiled and flicked her tail as she dozed under the sun, dreaming of the coming fish supper.

* * *

The heat in Vesper Bay was only slightly mitigated by the ocean breeze, but that also meant humidity on mornings like this one, leaving Renda sticky and tired. She wandered to the roof of the Waking Sands, only a little surprised to see Ardbert there already looking out over the ocean, his fire crystal in hand.

He often looked to it, as if hoping to find an answer in its roiling reflections.

“Did you get any sleep?” she asked as she invited herself to lean on the low wall next to him.

“Some,” he said as he put the crystal away. “Anxious for the others to get back.”

“When they do we’ll have to go through with Urianger’s plan,” she pointed out.

He only scowled, his gaze drifting. Such scowls seemed to have replaced his easy grin for his default expression since coming to this place. She didn’t need her own eyes to know where he instinctively looked to avoid the topic; she had noted him watching a few times now.

Renda gestured to the fishermen lining the docks and getting into their boats. “Maybe you should go cast a few,” she said nonchalantly.

Ardbert snorted. “We don’t exactly have time for such...frivolities.”

Now it was Renda’s turn to frown. “Never was frivolous when we were on the road and needed to eat, especially if my hunting didn’t bring in anything. Not to mention, you always plan better after you've had time to think while waiting on the fish to bite.”

“I’m fine. Urianger’s got the plan worked out, anyway,” Ardbert growled. “Besides, I didn’t exactly bring my rod and tackle with me, did I?”

She winced a little, but pressed on. “Could always borrow one, purchase some local bait. It won’t be the same as that shiny stick you spent so much time and money on back home, but nothing wrong with getting back to basics—“

“Drop it, Renda,” he snapped, forgetting to use her alias as he pushed off the wall. “The others will return soon—and we’ve got to be ready to play our parts.”

She sighed as she watched him tromp away, his shoulders tense and feet heavy. She missed his smiles and laughter, his goofy charm, even his too loud snoring after too much to drink. He felt responsible for everything ever since he had spared Cylva, ever since they had destroyed the Ascians, ever since the Flood had begun to wipe out their world.

He even blamed himself for “killing” the rest of them, though it had been necessary to send their souls to the Source to try and fix everything.

She knew he didn’t want to kill the Warrior of Light. Nevermind who that woman resembled and what that meant to him personally—the Ardbert that Renda had traveled with for so long would have never contemplated anything like this before. He would search for another way, as he had when they had learned the awful truth about the Shadowkeeper. But now...now her friend was broken, uncertain of his choices, weighed down by his mistakes.

Nevermind they had made those same choices, had been right there with him every step of the way. Ardbert would only ever see his own culpability.

Renda remained on the rooftop balcony awhile longer, sweat sliding down her back as she watched the fishermen. 

When this was over—if it was ever over in any way but the inevitable, part of her knew but didn’t like to admit—Renda hoped Ardbert would pick up a rod again, that he would sit in a low chair and watch the light sparkle over the water while he let the reel spin and the line play between his fingers, waiting for a bite.

She didn’t think Hydaelyn heard her anymore, but Renda sent a prayer to Her and the old Ronkan gods anyway. Just in case, for her friend’s sake.

Then she too pushed off the wall and returned to the interior below, to prepare to act her own part in this terrible play.

* * *

“I don’t like this, it’s...squidgie. In a gross way,” Ryne said, not wanting to touch the clumps of roe in the bucket.

“I think you just really like that word,” Aeryn teased, selecting her own bait and attaching it with practiced ease.

“It’s the appropriate one,” Ryne huffed. “Anyway, I’m going swimming instead. I don’t think I like fishing.”

“I didn’t know Aeryn did,” Thancred said. “Never knew you to pick up a rod before now.” He was casting his own line into the lake, having taken some time to get it right while claiming he had to shake off a few years of rust. He had good-naturedly groused and ignored Aeryn’s teasing ask of exactly how many years it had been since his youth in Limsa when he had fished regularly. He had only done a little fishing for practical reasons in the years they had traveled across Norvrandt. 

“It’s a newer hobby,” Aeryn said as she cast her line. “Seemed like a thing to do, now matters are a bit more settled.”

“And you’ve taken to it as naturally as you have so many other skills,” Thancred said.

Aeryn shrugged, a bit of pink on her cheeks. “Frithik’s a good teacher,” she replied, though a strange almost-hitch in her voice made Ryne glance her way.

Aeryn was leaning back in the low little fishing chair, the rod and line playing loosely through her calloused fingers while she looked beyond the Isle of Ken--really the sleeping Bismark--to where the shimmering waters of the lake met the hazy light of the horizon.

For the briefest eyeblink, though, Ryne could almost swear she saw a man sitting there instead. The image--impression, really--was gone too quickly for her to register anything except…

Contentment.

Ryne shook her head; what an odd feeling. It was just Aeryn, bantering with Thancred as they settled in for the afternoon, waiting for the fish to bite. Tomorrow they would all return to their work in the Empty, their aether rebalanced by the life of the Crystarium and Lakeland. Today, however, was just for the three of them to enjoy together.

As Ryne began to head towards the nearby rocky outcropping, she heard the line twang taunt with a little splash and the reel cranking while Thancred offered encouragement and unnecessary advice. Ryne smiled and skipped into the shallows, certain that when she returned there would be a fish supper waiting.

**Author's Note:**

> With the advent of Ocean Fishing, I finally leveled up that skill during the _Shadowbringers_ patches. Re-reading the first lorebook, Ardbert’s brief entry there reminded me he had a love of fishing (makes sense, as an island boy). Given events in 5.0, it led to my IC reasons for Aeryn to have picked up the skill post-Amaurot. Then I wondered about Ardbert’s hobby when he was still adventuring with his friends.


End file.
